Philippians 2:5 Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:

6 Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God:

7 But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men:

8 And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.

9 Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name:

10 That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth;

11 And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Hebrews 12:1 Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,

2 Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.

Matthew 16:24 Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.

25 For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it.

26 For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?

1 Corinthians 1:18 For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God.

Galatians 6:14 But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world.

MEMORY VERSE: And he [Jesus] said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me. —Luke 9:23

CENTRAL THOUGHT: Our Lord Jesus Christ willingly allowed Himself to be crucified on the cross as an example for all who believe and follow Him, that they might be faithful and willing to suffer as He suffered.

WORD DEFINITIONS

Philippians 2:5, “this mind”: This thought and purpose.

Verse 6, “thought it not robbery to be equal with God”: Counted equality with God not to be held on to.

Verse 7, “But made himself of no reputation”: But emptied himself. “servant”: Slave.

Verse 8, “found in fashion”: Showed himself to be no more than a mortal man. “became obedient unto death”: Being perfectly willing to allow himself to be put to death. “even the death of the cross”: Not just a natural death, but to allow Himself to die the most horrible and suffering death a person could suffer, and that was the death of being nailed to the cross and allowed to suffer and die thereon.

Verse 9, “Wherefore”: For this reason.

Verse 10, “every knee should bow”: Every mortal person ought to bow down in submission and gratitude.

Hebrews 12:1, “compassed”: Surrounded. “witnesses”: People whose faith in God spoke out bravely. “lay aside every weight”: Refuse to allow anything to hinder. “the sin which doth so easily beset us”: The ungodly ways of the sinful world around us that are so enticing and convenient.

Verse 2, “despising the shame”: Counting lightly the hateful scorn of those who crucified Him.

LESSON BACKGROUND

We have in the four Gospels of the New Testament the vivid account of the hateful scorn of the leaders of the nation of Israel toward Jesus Christ and the horrible death that they sentenced Him to suffer and bear. Our text from Philippians 2:5-12 portrays what it was really all about. It declares that Christ was in the form of God; this means that Christ was with God from the beginning. He came from eternity down to this fleeting world of time. It also states that Christ did not count this equality with God to be held on to, but He emptied Himself and came down to the level of mortal humanity for the purpose of paying the debt of salvation for mankind.

This was a great condescension, but He did not stop there. No, He humbled Himself to be willing and obedient to the will of God by allowing the sinful men of the world to take Him and inflict upon Him the most painful and horrible death a mortal can die. He was nailed, in hands and feet, to a man-made cross of wood, to hang and suffer the excruciating painful death thereon. We do not know all about it, but there is a probability that He was hung naked. At any rate, it was the most horrible, agonizing, suffering, and shameful death a man could bear.

Now, our Saviour could have drawn back and avoided such a shameful experience. We have His words in Matthew 26:53 that He could have called for twelve legions of angels to deliver Him from such a death. But He followed with the question in verse 54, “How shall the scriptures be fulfilled, that thus it must be?” Christ submitted Himself to be shamefully crucified in fulfillment to the foregoing prophesies for the atonement of the sins of mankind.

Along with these Scriptures, we have the sayings of Jesus concerning all who follow Him. There is a cross that we all must bear if we are to walk worthy of His grace and salvation. If we draw back from the shame of the Christian profession before this ungodly world, then we prove ourselves unworthy of His grace and eternal blessings. May the Lord help us all to be willing to go all the way with Him and be with Him in His eternal glory in that blessed world to come!

—Bro. Leslie Busbee

QUESTIONS:
1. What kind of mind did Jesus have that we must also have?
2. Why did Jesus not take actions to escape the death of the cross?
3. What is the cross that all who love and follow Him must bear?
4. What was the reward that God gave to Christ for His obedience?
5. What will be the result of all who draw back from the cross?

COMMENTS AND APPLICATION

There is a song that says, “Oh, there’s a cross for everyone to bear; but there’s a heaven for each soul to share! There’s a place in heaven waiting me; I have it through His death on Calvary!” Our Lord Jesus fully knew what He was going to have to suffer as the Saviour of mankind. He spoke of it various times to His disciples. As our lesson bears out, this cross of suffering that Christ had to bear will be passed on to all who believe and follow Him. I have thought much about our Scripture in this lesson from Matthew 16:24-26. This saying of our Lord and Saviour fully reveals a truth that we all need to recognize and fully accept. If we want to partake of Christ’s salvation, we must deny self and the worldly attractions and be willing to bear a cross that will be in accord with the cross that our Lord Jesus did bear. In other words, we must be willing to die and give our life as Christ did. To try to save our life will mean that we are going to lose it.

I believe there are other ways we can try to hold on to this life. Look at the medical system and the effort and work of earthly physicians. What are they working for? Is it not to save life and deliver people from the threat of death? It seems a noble thing, but consider this: since Christ suffered so willingly for us and did not seek to save His life, why should we go to such great extent, trusting in medicine and doctors, to preserve our lives? It is even as Jesus stated: “For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find (or save) it.”

We can understand why the world and society goes to such great effort and work, using medical application to heal and save lives; however, we as children of God know that, according to the Scriptures, Jesus bore His physical suffering, not only to save our souls, but also to administer healing to our bodies as well. So then, if we choose to refuse medical science and the procedures of earthly physicians and put our trust solely in God for our healing, we put ourselves in tune with Him, but at great variance with the world. The world doesn’t understand our belief that if we try to save our lives we will lose our lives. But we believe that if we put ourselves earnestly and faithfully in God’s hands and trust fully in Him, live or die, we will surely save our lives, not for this fleeting earthly world, but for eternal life and happiness with God, and His Son, and all the true and faithful of His precious saints and obedient men and women.

—Bro. Leslie Busbee

REFLECTIONS

” ‘. . . let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me’ (Luke 9:23).
“Daily; without intermission, without holiday; now, today, this hour; and then, tomorrow! And the daily ‘cross’; a something which is to be the instrument of disgrace and execution to something else! And what will that something be? Just whatever gives occasion of ever deeper test to the self-surrender of which we have spoken; just whatever exposes to shame and death the old aims, and purposes, and plans, the old spirit of self and its life.

“Perhaps it is some small trifle of daily routine; a crossing of personal preference in very little things; accumulation of duties, unexpected interruption, unwelcome distraction. Yesterday these things merely fretted you and, internally at least, ‘upset’ you. Today, on the contrary, you take them up, and stretch your hands out upon them, and let them be the occasion of new disgrace and deeper death for that old self-spirit. You take them up in loving, worshipful acceptance. You carry them to their Calvary in thankful submission. And tomorrow you will do the same.”

—Bishop Moule, as quoted in Beyond Humiliation, The Way of the Cross, by J. Gregory Mantle
—Selected by Sis. Angela Gellenbeck